Lightning storms can damage electronics and cause injury. You should be careful about using electrical devices during a storm.
Not too long ago, we had a thunderstorm. Lightning struck, and the power surged, went off, and came back on pretty quickly. I’m one of those people who insists on keeping his land line when it comes to the telephone. In fact, I don’t even have a cell phone, and when you cell phone users are all walking around with brain cancer, I’ll have the last laugh, because I’ll be the only healthy man on earth. Anyway, I digress. I have two cordless phones from GE, and they both plug into their respective bases in the kitchen.
After the storm, the sound coming from the speakers got really loud and buzzy. It’s got an echo and static at the same time, and the volume is higher than it used to be. I can understand people on the phone when they speak clearly, but sometimes it can be hard to understand others on the phone. And even when I can understand the other person, it’s irritating to talk to them through so much interference.
I called Verizon, and they were actually able to send out a service rep that day to check my wiring. According to him, the problem is with the phones, not with their service, and I guess I believe him. I’m still bummed about it though, because I need to buy two new phones now.
What’s the point of all this? I don’t know that there is much of a point, but next time you have a thunderstorm in your area, if your cordless phone base is plugged into an electrical outlet, you might want to unplug it until the lightning dies down.
Then again, you might have relatives you worry about during storms, and you might need to remain available via the phone as much as possible.
Nah, what am I thinking. You’ve almost certainly got a cell phone you could use as a backup. Heck, most people now use their cell phone as their primary phone anyway, and more of my friends are getting rid of their land lines every day.
